Wrath of the Dilgar
by Ben Griggs
Summary: 20 years after the Dilgar's rampage through League territory, and subsequent expulsion at the hands of Earthforce. The Dilgar have returned after having been thought extinct. Now they pose a threat not only to the league but Earth and the Minbari as well. CANCELLED See legal stuff on profile. I do not own Babylon 5 or any characters
1. The lay of the land

Chapter 1

Ambassador Mollari reluctantly agreed to provide Earthforce with data regarding the Minbari.

Captain Sheridan met with General Lefcourt to discuss the mission.

"And our orders if contact is initiated by them?" Sheridan asked

"Just don't start a war. The people had enough with the Dilgar. Earthforce is strong now but we really don't need another war." Replied Lefcourt.

"I've reviewed the data given to us by the Centauri but I have some other questions. Can I talk to Ambassador Mollari?"

"We'll arrange the meeting."

"Very good sir."

Sheridan walked out.

A few hours later Sheridan was called into an office and Ambassador Mollari was waiting for him. "Ah Captain Sheridan a pleasure to meet you. I understand you have some additional questions for me. I will try to answer them as best I can." He said

"Yes ambassador thank you for meeting me. First question, how do they approach first contact situations? Any particular thing I should watch out for?"

"I thought your orders were to avoid contact."

"Yes, I just want to know some things just in case."

"Well when they approached our ships they did so with gun ports open but weapons down. As a gesture of respect."

"I see…do you have any additional data on their language? Something that would help translate messages?"

"Not more than what we provided initially. As I said before our dealings have been limited."

"Would they understand blink code Centauri or otherwise?"

"Probably."

"Thank you Ambassador. That's all I was concerned with really."

"I see….a piece of advice Captain, whatever you do, don't start a war with them for they will destroy you."

"I'll keep that in mind Ambassador."

Sheridan walked out of the office and took a shuttle to his ship the EAS Heracles. Together with its small scouting force of two additional ships made the jump to hyperspace towards the suspected Minbari border...


	2. First Contact

Chapter 2 First Contact

Commander Sheridan sat strapped into his command chair. His ship the EAS Heracles was a newer Hyperion-class cruiser. He had two escorts of the same class but older. "Status?"

"We're holding position in hyperspace near what we believe to be the Minbari border."

"All right, let's make this quick. We jump in, we scan, we get out, understood?"

There was a chorus of 'aye sirs'. "Prepare to jump...jump!"

A blue vortex ripped space open and three grey blocks jumped into normal space. "Start scanning for anything, probes, border stations, patrols, anything." said Sheridan

"Aye sir, scanning...hold on...I've got something, I haven't a clue what it is though."

"Let me see." on the screen appeared a silhouette of a ship. It looked like a fish.

"They're turning toward us sir and they're scanning us."

"All right, jump us out now."

"We can't sir, something is preventing us from opening a stable jump point."

"Open communications with the Minbari. Tell them we mean no harm."

Delen walked alongside Dukhat on the way to the Grey Council chambers. A warrior approached and bowed. "Honored Satis there is a group of alien ships that have just jumped out of hyperspace. We don't know who they are. They scanned us intensely, we went to stealth mode and have begun our approach. As per tradition we are approaching with our gun ports open."

"Show me."

The warrior led them to the Council chambers but stayed outside. Dukhat walked into the middle. Nine spotlights illuminated nine Minbari. Three from each caste worker, warrior, religious. "We don't recognize these ships Dukhat. They are attempting to communicate but we don't understand their language." one of them said

An aide walked in and whispered something to one of the nine. The aide turned to leave, then saw the ships and the blinking lights. He hesitated before walking out. One of the warrior caste turned to him. "Something wrong?"

"Forgive me honored one, but it looks like they're trying to communicate with Centauri blink code."

"Can you translate for us?" asked Dukhat

"Yes. They say they mean no harm and that our scans are disrupting their systems."

"Well stop scanning them. We don't want to provoke them whoever they are." said Caplan.

"Now what are they saying?" asked Dukhat

"They're saying they want to send us their language files so we can work on translating them and they want us to send them our language. They're using Centauri as an intermediary language."

"Interesting approach. Tell them we agree."

"Yes sir...we're receiving their primary language files and they ours. Beginning translation. It'll be a few minutes. Their language is...complex."

"We're receiving visual communications."

The face of John Sheridan appeared above them. "This is Commander John Sheridan. I bring you greeting from the people of Earth." he said in perfectly translated Centauri.

Dukhat turned to the aide "Translate what I say into Centauri. This is Dukhat, Chosen one of the Minbari. Why have you crossed our border?"

"_We meant no disrespect, we're just on a scouting mission to find your border...I had strict orders not to make contact but your scanners prevented me from jumping out."_

"I see. Our translation computer is working on your language. But it will take some time."

"As is ours. In the meantime, I'd like to send you our cultural database. So when we met face to face there is no confusion over protocol or ceremony."

"A wise suggestion, we will send you our database as well."

The four ships hung there in space for thirty minutes. The translations finished faster than expected. They exchanged databases and the Earth ships prepared to leave. As they opened a jump point another jump point opened up. Out of this jump point came some very old but familiar ships. The Earth ships aborted their jump. "Are they ours?" he asked

"IFF reads as the _Hercules and Pollux_, along with...sir! Those are Dilgar ships!"

"Dilgar! But how they were wiped out!"

Another officer turned to him. "Sir, the _Hercules _and_ Pollux _went missing during the war. They were assumed destroyed."

"We'll they're obviously not destroyed and probably under Dilgar control. Let me talk to the Minbari."

"Channel open sir."

"Dukhat do you read?"

"We're here Commander. You know anything about these new ships."

"Yes, they're Dilgar and the two Earth ships were assumed destroyed during the war. They've obviously been captured. Watch yourself, we're gonna see what they want."

"Be careful Commander we stand ready to assist."

"Understood. Helm bring us between the Dilgar and the Minbari."

"Sir, they're locking on to the Minbari ships. They're opening fire!"

"Guess that settles their intentions. Red Alert, lock weapons on the Dilgar ships and launch fighters. Coordinate with Dukhat's ship. Open fire."

Pulse cannons raced across space as Dilgar bolters impacted the Earth ships. As in the original war the Earth ships took the pounding and returned fire, unfazed. The Dilgar ships...survived the initial bombardment. The Minbari ship was taking damage. Earth and Minbari fighters were mixing it up with Dilgar Thoruns but they've been enhanced. Some pilots reported enemy fighters taking up to three or more hits to explode.

"Sir, the Minbari have gone full stealth I can't read them anymore. But the Dilgar and the two captured ships are still hitting it. The capital ships are still firing sir. The Dilgar appear to have improved their armor. The Minbari are firing."

Green light slashed across space. The neutron beam intersected a Dilgar cruiser and sliced it in half. The next beam found one of the two captured Earthships. The beam slashed across the cruiser...but it didn't explode.

"Impossible! our scans say the Earth ships can't take our firepower." said Caplan

"Obviously the Dilgar have improved not just their ships. Finish them off."

The two Earthships lasted longer than their Dilgar counterparts in part due to their already hardy construction. It took the combined firepower of all four ships to bring them both down.

"Damage report."

"Sir, armor integrity is down by 30%! Sir, normal Dilgar weapons aren't that strong, we should have shrugged off everything they could throw at us. We should've been able to take that force by ourselves."

"You're forgetting the Dilgar war was 20 years ago. They've improved not only their weapons but their armor as well. I'd like to see what kind of armor they put on our ships. It took the brunt of a Minbari Neutron beam and survived."

"Sir the Minbari are hailing us in our own language."

"Put them through."

"My compliments to you and your crew Commander they fought well. I'm especially interested in the older Earthships. Our scans of your vessel tell us you wouldn't last ten seconds against us. Our weapons should've punched right through the older ships with ease."

"They must have some kind of new armor. How much damage did they do to you?"

"Moderate, but nothing we can't handle."

"Very well, I should report back to my people. We may have a problem on our hands."

"I concur, I think perhaps we will join you."

"You're welcome to join us of course. Lieutenant instruct our ships to take up escort position around the Valen'Tha and initiate jump sequence. Time to go home."


	3. Meetings and Agreements

Enjoy!

Meetings and Agreements

Far from explored territory, far from the League of Non-aligned worlds, the Humans and the Minbari. The Dilgar rebuilt their race and continued to scream revenge for 20 years. The current Warmaster was fuming. _They were supposed to wait until the Earthers were gone! Those fools got what they deserved but our hand has been shown._ Turning to his assistant. "Triple the output of our shipyards. Do the same for the fighter factories too. Make sure our ships have the new armor and weapons."

"Yes Warmaster."

Two jump points opened near an outlying Earthforce base. Out of one came three Earth Alliance warships. Out of the other a Minbari Shagotti-class dreadnought named _Valen'tha._ Sheridan opened a channel to the space station. General Williams responded.

"Sir, we've got a problem...they're back...the Dilgar."

_"That's impossible!"_

"It's true sir. They attacked my group and the Minbari after we made contact with them."

_"I see. I take it the blue angelfish ship is the Minbari?"_

"That's correct sir. As it happens it's carrying the equivalent of their President. He would like to speak with us concerning an alliance."

_"I see. If the Dilgar are back the League should come running."_

"Yeah, the other direction. Based on what I've read of the first war they didn't do anything for each other until they hit the Brakiri, Abbai and Drazi. I think if we show them their back and more powerful than they were we should be able to put a decent sized force together. Now the Minbari ship is called the Valen'tha, lead by a man named Dukhat."

"Thank you Captain. I'll get back to you."

General Williams cut the channel then turned to his comm. officer. "Get the President on Gold channel."

A moment later Elizabeth Levy returned his call. _"It's 5am General, this better be good."_

"I've got good news and bad news Madam President. The short form is that the Dilgar are back and apparently have enhanced weapons and armor. The good news is we may have a new ally, the Minbari."

Her expression changed in an instant.

_"Let me talk to Sheridan."_ she said

"I'm patching him through now."

Sheridan gave the President a quick rundown of what happened. From first contact with the Minbari to the attack by not only Dilgar but captured Earth warships as well. She seemed a little overwhelmed by it but kept her cool.

_"Alright Captain here are your orders. Escort the Valen'tha to Earth. I'll send more escorts to meet you along the way."_

"Yes Madam President."

_ "When you get here we'll begin negotiations with the Minbari. We'll also alert the League worlds. Hopefully they'll come to our aid and this new war will be short. I'm going to hold off on announcing the return of the Dilgar to the world however. I don't need a panic on my hands. I'm ordering the military on high alert. I want you to maintain condition 2 for the duration of your escort. That is all."_

"Yes ma'am."

With that the channel closed and Sheridan issued orders to his crew. "Charge jump engines and get me the Valen'tha."

"_We're here Captain. What is your government's decision?" _replied Dukhat

"I've been ordered to escort you to earth to conduct negotiations for an alliance. I don't think they quite believe the Dilgar are back yet but they're not about to turn away from a possible alliance."

_"Very well, we're ready to jump when you are."_

Sheridan nodded to his navigator. The jump drive activated and the swirling blue of a jump point formed in space. Three earthships and a Minbari vessel jumped to hyperspace on course to earth.

A week later they arrived at earth. Dukhat shuttled down with the Grey Council and met the President of the Earth Alliance. Three days later a trade agreement was signed. A day after that the news broke.

The space station at Jericho 3 had been attacked. Ships retreating from the battle captured the last few seconds as beams of energy sliced through what remained of the station. They also caught images of landing craft descending to Jericho colony. The enemy ships were a combination of Dilgar and a previously unknown faction. Dukhat met with the President again to discuss the matter.

"Satai Dukhat, I must formally request military aid in defeating the Dilgar. With your help along with the League of Non-Aligned worlds we should be able to crush them relatively quickly. Even if they have improved weapons and armor."

"You'll have it. The warrior caste is already mobilizing because of the attack on my ship earlier."

"I'd also like to discuss a technology and weapons exchange."

"We've scanned your ships madam president. Our stealth technology is incompatible and our weapons too power hungry. However we can offer you artificial gravity plating as well as schematics for building your own."

"Than...Thank you. That will be a great help. But the League might want to get their hands on it too."

"If they join our alliance they'll get it."

"Now about these other ships besides the Dilgar. We think that's where they're getting their enhanced armor and weapons."

"Yes, I believe they are called the Drakh. They are servants of the Shadows."

"Shadows?"

Dukhat went to a brief summary of the Shadows. From the Great War a thousand years ago to the prophecy of their return. "Madam President, if the Drakh are back you can bet the Shadows aren't far behind. We'll need every ship we can get."

"As soon as I make the announcement, we're going to wartime production in the shipyards. I want to be able to replace ships faster than we can lose them. We'll also be calling up some retirees and veterans from the Dilgar war." she said

General Fontaine spoke up "They're trying to knock us out first so they only have to deal with the League and the Minbari. If we can call on the Narn and Centauri we'll have enough ships to push the Dilgar back to wherever they came from. We're mobilizing a fleet to retake Jericho before they push too far into Alliance territory."

"A wise move. I will return to Minbar and prepare our fleet. Delen will stay here as our ambassador."

"Very well, we'll escort you as far as your boarder. The liberation of Jericho will commence in a week."

"We'll be there."

Dukhat walked out and left Delen there. "Ambassador I'll assign an Earthforce liaison to you and assign you quarters and get anything you need. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to the other Ambassadors from the Centauri Republic and Narn Regime."

"Thank you madam President."


	4. Cut off

A/N: I know this is a short chapter please bear with me. That enemy of all authors...WRITER'S BLOCK! *dramatic gasp* has attacked.

Chapter 3 Cut off

Before the liberation of Jericho could commence, the Dilgar struck the League of Non-Aligned worlds, starting with the Drazi. They also struck outposts along the Centauri/Narn border. At first they accused each other but after examining the evidence and the ships used, they concluded that the Dilgar were trying to get them to go to war to weaken their forces for an imminent invasion. For the first time since they encountered each other the Narn and the Centauri issued a joint statement of support for the League worlds and the Earth Alliance and a joint Narn/Centauri fleet was sent to Earth space. The Dilgar's allies, the Drakh struck several outlying colonies in Minbari space, cutting off the promised Minbari reinforcements. Sheridan met with the Ambassadors to discuss the situation.

"Before we begin, on behalf of the Earth Alliance, I'd like to thank the Narn and Centauri governments for sending support ships." said Captain Sheridan

"We stood by and did nothing the first time the Dilgar attacked. We won't make the same mistake." said G'Kar, the Narn Ambassador.

"Now on to other matters. The League representatives are requesting aid from the Earth Alliance" he turned to the Drazi Ambassador. "Unfortunately the Dilgar have invaded our space too. Until we eject them we simply can't afford to support the League."

Ambassador Mollari of the Centauri spoke up. "My government in cooperation with the Narn would like nothing more then to send ships to the League to help them. But most of our forces are either assisting the Earthers with driving the Dilgar out or patrolling our own territories. We're...as the humans say 'all in the same boat' meaning we can't send ships to the League without leaving our own planets vulnerable."

Sheridan turned to Delenn. "What help can we expect from the Minbari?"

She took a breath and spoke. "Unfortunately, my government is in the same position as the Earth Alliance and Centauri/Narn governments. We've been attacked as well but not by the Dilgar but by a much more powerful enemy. Three outlying colonies have been attacked and eradicated by the Drakh, servants of the Shadows. The best we can offer you is those few vessels we have near your territory."

"Ambassador let me extend our sympathies to your people. The most some of us can do right now is hold on until help arrives. The Earth Alliance officially makes the following promise, once we drive the Dilgar out of the League as well as our own territory, we will render whatever aid we can to the Minbari Federation. Then as a united force we can drive the Dilgar and the Drakh back to where they came from."

The Centauri Ambassador was about to speak when an Earthforce officer rushed in and whispered something to Sheridan. "Are...are you sure?" he whispered. "Very well, dismissed." then to the Ambassadors he said "This conflict has just escalated. This isn't a war of conquest anymore. It's one of extermination. We've received reports from resistance groups on Jericho that the Dilgar are massacring civilians. They're killing every human they can find."

"Jericho is one of your larger outer colonies." Mollari said

"A population of tens of thousands of people. It gets worse, the Dilgar have amassed a fleet there. The next target for them will be Beta Durani. We're already rerouting our liberation fleet there. Ambassadors Mollari and G'Kar, if you would redirect your fleets there as well, perhaps we can hold the line and beat them back. The sooner we beat them back the sooner we can help the League worlds and the Minbari." said Sheridan.

The Ambassadors nodded in agreement and understanding. As the Ambassadors left Sheridan escorted Delenn to her office. An Earthforce Intelligence officer was waiting for her. "Ambassador, I am Lieutenant Commander Stevens, Earthforce Intelligence. Please don't misunderstand my presence; I'm not here to spy on you I would just like to ask some questions regarding the capabilities of the few ships in Earth space. My division of Intelligence gathers general data regarding the capabilities and resources of other species ships. In this case, as allies it would be my job to analyze the capabilities of your ships so I can advise as to their best use in conjunction with Earthforce battle-groups. Again I'm just looking for general specifications, crew complement and other non-classified information."

"A wise question Lieutenant. Though I'm afraid I couldn't answer most of your questions, I am of the religious caste. You can get the answers you seek by asking someone of the warrior or worker caste. I have two assistants from each caste; I will call for them to meet with you at your convenience."

"Thank you Ambassador, this is most appreciated." Said the Lieutenant. Then he bowed in the manner of the Minbari which impressed Delenn and left. She looked at Sheridan with questioning eyes. He shrugged and said

"It's his job; he's probably doing the same thing with the League Ambassadors and Narn/Centauri governments. He's no spy. Just an analyst."

"I understand and I hope we can resolve this conflict quickly."

"As do I Deleen."


End file.
